Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,365,306 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 671,359 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International comprises approximately 0.6% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,151,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 145,262,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,300,088,000 after acquiring an additional 1,793,949 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 132,355,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,230,315,000 after acquiring an additional 3,579,399 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 101,377,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,262,967,000 after acquiring an additional 12,227,004 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,559,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,751,407,000 after acquiring an additional 11,013,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 12.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,230,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,848,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,421 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. BTIG Research set a $221.00 target price on Philip Morris International and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.89.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of PM stock opened at $187.77 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $185.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.12. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.11 and a 52 week high of $207.76. The company has a market cap of $292.66 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.38.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.15. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 11.06% and a negative return on equity of 163.41%. The firm had revenue of $11.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Philip Morris International has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.25 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 8.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 25th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 84.48%.

About Philip Morris International

Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE: PM) is a global tobacco company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, other nicotine-containing products and a growing portfolio of smoke-free alternatives for adult smokers. The firm traces its corporate roots to the 19th century Philip Morris enterprise and was established as an independent, publicly traded company following a 2008 separation from what is now Altria. Since the spin-off, the company has focused on serving international markets outside the United States.

PMI’s product mix includes traditional combustible cigarettes as well as smoke-free offerings such as heated tobacco systems and other reduced-risk products.